In 1988, the Netherlands became the first European country to connect to the Internet, and on November 17 of that year, the Institute for Mathematics and Informatics in Amsterdam received the first email from America. Since then, the Netherlands, thanks to its central location, has taken its place on the world map as the digital hub that many technology groups have chosen to set up offices. In recent years, Greece, a longtime leader in attracting large-scale investments in technology and IT, has sought to strengthen its role as a digital hub.

The country is currently investing or planning more investments than ever in data centers that store data and information transmitted over the Internet. Recently, the State Council approved the Special Strategic Investment Plan for Spatial Development (ESHASE) regarding the construction of a Microsoft data center in the Petra Gialos – Voulias – Procalissi business park in the municipality of Spaton Artemidos. This is one of three data centers, the remaining two are planned to be located in the Koropi business park. The three data centers are a €1 billion investment, the real start of which is obtaining the necessary building permits. In any case, hosting and licensing a data center is a laborious process, given that more than two and a half years have passed since Microsoft President Brad Smith announced his plan to build a data center cluster in Attica in October 2020.

Another player with strong data center activity is Lamda Hellix, part of the American group Digital Realty. At the end of 2022, the company opened the first phase of Lamda Hellix Athens 3, the largest data center in Greece and the company’s third data center in Athens. This is an investment of 70 million euros, with Athens 3 having a capacity of 6.8 MW, the largest of any operating data center in Greece. The second phase of Athens 3, which will lead to the start of its operation as a whole, is expected to be completed in the near future. Lamda Hellix-Digital Realty is also developing Athens 4, which is expected to be completed in 2024. It is also planning the construction of Athens 5 and for this purpose has acquired a new site near the Athens campus in Koropi, where the rest of its data centers are located. Over time, data centers with a total capacity of 15 MW will be built in the area to meet the increased demand for data hosting services.

What projects are Microsoft, Lamda Hellix and Lancom implementing in Attica, Thessaloniki and Crete?

Outside of Attica, in Heraklion, Crete, Lamda Hellix is ​​building another 6.5 MW data center (Heraklion 1) due for completion in 2025. All these investments implemented by Lamda Hellix create – according to its preliminary calculations of the company, the total added value for the Greek economy exceeds 4 billion euros.

Lancom is also starting new investments with the completion of the 2,500 sqm Balkan Gate Thessaloniki in January 2022. The company is also launching a data center in Crete (Balkan Gate Crete) that will act as a hosting/connection point for the submarine fiber optic cables to be laid on the island, providing a route to the Balkans and the southeastern Mediterranean. .